Kuro Arashi: The Black Storm - Chapter 8
The eighth chapter of Kuro Arashi: The Black Storm. This chapter features the return of the exams to get into Tokyo University... and Keitaro Urashima's runaway venture. Chapter Synopsis As a new arch of the story unfolds, this opening scene begins with Keitaro taking his exam to get into Tokyo U. He flips through the test as a precaution, going over the material as a cursory measure to ensure he feels he can pass. Finding that he feels he could indeed make a high enough score this go around on the exam, he slips into a daydream, envisioning an elaborate future in which he's passed and everything is going just as he wishes. Keitaro snaps out of the daydream, however, when he hears he only has five more minutes to complete the test. Panicking, he looks to his exam packet and answer sheet, completely blank, in distress. The scene shifts to Naru Narusegawa greeting Mutsumi Otohime and asking her fellow examinee how her test went. The two then go to look for Keitaro only to find that he is not in his exam hall and has left only a note which read, "Don't look for me; Keitaro." ''Wordlessly, Mutsumi pulls the suddenly heartbroken Naru into a hug, silently wondering why Keitaro would leave and cause Naru all the more pain by vanishing. In downtown Hinata, Keitaro bumps into Kimiaki Shirai and Masayuki Haitani, his friends, during his distress. The duo were discussing a labor job over seas that had no requirements. Both become rather shocked when Keitaro snatches the flier with the job information on it and continues on his walk of depression past them. Back at Hinata House, Mutsumi had managed to get Naru to calm down, but only just so. Naru vividly assumes that Keitaro has committed suicide rather than face failure again. Mutusmi assures her friend that he only needed a few days away to collect himself. Meanwhile, Seno Nakakami and Motoko Nakakami both display mutual anger with their friend for leaving without so much as a word. Meanwhile, Keitaro himself is on a commercial fishing boat bound over seas to the job on the flier he snagged from Shirai and Haitani. He runs into Noriyasu Seta upon the ship, where the other man holds a brief conversastion with Keitaro about the island they're headed to, Pararakelse, but shortly walks away, seemingly distracted by another group of people. Clutching his exam ticket in depression, Keitaro rears back his arm to pitch it overboard when he notices that it has been written on by the other residents of the Hinata-Sou. Dropping to his knees in depression, stating he was just a worthless failure, a gust of wind pulls the ticket from his hand. In a moment, though, he exclaims that he won't give up or let go of anyone, especially not Naru, and he leaps out to clutch the ticket... before realizing that said leap has taken him overboard and into the ocean. His last recollection before drifting into unconciousness is that of a voice telling him that this was not tbe his grave, but that he was welcome to it. Back at the Hinata, the rest of the Hinata residents have set to work interrogating Shirai and Haitani as to Keitaro's whereabouts. Haruka Urashima has even broken out her cat o'nine tails, clearly displeased that her nephew has vanished. Shirai and Haitani make the mistake of begging Naru for help. Naru sends Haitani into orbit with a well placed punch. Before the interrogation of Shirai can go much further, Seta calls to inform Haruka and the others where Keitaro is. Though the phone cuts out before Seta can fully name the island, Naru has already decided to head off in search of her boyfriend, which Seno deciding he ought to go as well. Motoko also decides to accompany Naru and Seno. As they are setting off, Mutsumi returns and asks if Naru would like to know the exam results, to which Naru asks Mutsumi to check them, as she must go look for Keitaro. With that, the journey to find the lost Urashima was on. Characters References to Other Media *A.I. Love You'' *Buddy Jesus *Chuck Norris *''Star Wars'' **''Star Wars: Battlefront'' Trivia *This chapter coincides with the Love Hina Spring Special. Category:Kuro Arashi: The Black Storm Chapters